Voter turnout overwhelms polling and caucus sites

Published 6:00 pm, Monday, March 3, 2008

Texans turned out in overwhelming numbers for Tuesday's primary, resulting in long lines at polling places, shortages of paper ballots in some precincts and overflow crowds at post-election caucuses.

Some precincts in Houston remained open after 10 p.m. to accommodate long lines of waiting voters. Similar scenes were reported elsewhere in the state, including Travis and Tarrant counties.

"At this point in time, everybody's looking for something different," said Al Miller, a 20-year-old financial services staffer who voted in Hurst. "I expected a lot of turnout because everybody's trying to make a difference."

Turnout had been expected to set a new Texas record. Based on early voting numbers, Secretary of State Phil Wilson projected26 percent of the state's 12.7 million registered voters in Texas would cast ballots.

State Democratic Party officials also were expecting a dramatic increase because of the intense race between Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.

"This has the air of a once-in-a-lifetime event," said Democratic precinct chair Bob Ackerman in Dallas. "All of a sudden, we matter after having been forgotten so long as Democrats in George Bush's home state."

The crush of voters caused a run on ballots in some counties where parties are responsible for ordering ballots.

Washington County Elections Administrator Linda LaCross expected problems before the polls even opened Tuesday.

"We don't have enough ballots for the Republicans," she told the Bryan-College Station Eagle. "They ordered 4,000 ballots, but we need more like 6,000 or 7,000. This is my worst nightmare."

Some Williamson County precincts also reported depleted ballot supplies, but the elections office was able to provide them with more.

At least one precinct in Central Texas county also ran out of paper ballots late Tuesday afternoon. The polling place also was equipped with an electronic voting machine, but Williamson County elections administrator Rick Barron was uncertain whether it could accommodate all who were waiting in line.

Caucuses also turned chaotic after large crowds showed up to choose delegates.

Austin police dispatched three patrol cars to quell a minor disturbance at a Travis County precinct shortly after 8 p.m. No one was arrested, the Austin American-Stateman reported.

More than 2,000 people trying to attend the Democratic caucus in the North Texas town of Little Elm waited in the parking lot for about two hours before being allowed into the building to convene.

"It was extremely unorganized. It definitely caused a lot of frustration," said Dan Perez, a 30-year-old homebuilder.

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Associated Press Writers Kelley Shannon and Jim Vertuno in Austin; Chris Sherman in Pharr and Schuyler Dixon in Hurst contributed to this report.